Week followed productive week in May as the work on Greg's property continued. Finishing items which needed to be ordered were selected by Greg and Susan on weekends and communicated to Mr. Thompson during the week. And with every visit, both Greg's contractors were eager to show him what they'd accomplished since he was last there.
The pouring of the concrete for the bridge supports happened right on time that first week in May, while Mr. Van Kirk arranged to have the back hoe and the grader delivered early and immediately began to dig through the soft topsoil on the north side of the hill to expose the rock surface where the garage entrance would be in only a few days. At the same time the official driveway into the property was being graded, defined and gravel spread to protect the topsoil in those areas of the property.
Mr. Craig was back the week after that, working on creating the space in the rock which would eventually become the garage. As it turned out, the orientation for the garage was angled differently than the tunnel they'd created to access the cave back in February. In fact the tunnel ran through the garage at an angle, so that as the space for it was created, the original tunnel opening gradually disappeared, swallowed by the garage, although at the back the tunnel continued far deeper into the hill than the garage ever would, so easily two thirds of the original tunnel remained unchanged. The soil and rock they extracted from the hill became part of the fill which was crushed, flattened and spread out evenly in front of the new opening, eventually becoming part of the drive that would lead back up the hill, creating an even bigger change there.
During that same week, Mr. Thompson was also creating major changes on the south side of the hill. The steel beams arrived and were lowered into place by cranes atop the bridge supports in the valley. Mr. Van Kirk's crew had cooperated admirably with Mr. Thompson's workers to ensure the spaces in the hill the beams were driven into were ready. The forms for the odd, triangle part of the foundation were in place beneath the beams, ready to be poured before they became to inaccessible from the top. They were located at the edge of the upper valley instead of the second one, and so they were higher than the foundation already in place for the hotel wings. It certainly was a start for connecting them to the bridge part of the house, but from the forms alone, it was far from clear how that would be done, especially when the work for the hotel wings themselves seemed to be at a much more advanced stage. The framing for the hotel wings progressing with both the internal and external walls, windows and doorways defined, which meant that by the end of the third week, their future guest rooms were actually starting to look like rooms.
That third week in May was also the week before the Memorial Day holiday. Preparation for cement work continued on both sides of the hill, with Mr. Van Kirk's crew creating lips around the newly bored entrance to the garage to hold back the top soil away from the opening and to stabilize the hillside. Those were ready to pour on Friday of that week, at the same time the men working with Mr. Sato set some of the boulders in place around the opening of the cave and were ready to pour more of the finishing concrete there, and Mr. Thompson was pouring the cruder grade into the forms for the last of the foundation.
Steelwork and welding was the other thing occupying Mr. Thompson's crew. Cross-beams were being added to the bridge house substructure, making it ready to serve as a foundation. Both crews had come to anticipate Greg's end-of-week visits on Fridays and both were ready for him shortly after noon that week, just before the holiday weekend, even though the cement was still being poured.
c
"Are you ready?" Greg asked Zackary when he came home from school on that Friday before the Memorial Day holiday.
"To see the house?" Zackary asked as he set his backpack down.
"To visit our construction site," Greg said. "I think you will find there is a lot to look at, even though there isn't too much of the house present just yet."
"Okay," Zackary agreed with a grin.
"Put your backpack in your room and meet me in the garage," Greg instructed as he gathered his notes and their camera, and prepared to go.
Zackary was climbing into the car beside Greg a short time later and Greg backed out of the garage.
"I would like to prepare you for a significant surprise," Greg said as they drove past the farmhouse and proceeded down the street on their way towards their property.
"What sort of a surprise?" Zackary asked. "Isn't the house coming out the way it's supposed to?"
"It is. However, do you remember the tunnel that goes into the hill from the bottom valley?" Greg asked.
"Yeah," Zackary said.
"Well Mr. Stevenson, Mr. Sato and I have figured out why it was there. There was once an opening to a cave in the area of the uppermost valley. The cave itself extends beneath the hill in the direction where the tunnel is. The cave itself is of course still there, but the original opening to it was buried by mudslides some one hundred and twenty-five or so years ago. We discovered it by accident while we were doing the boring work for our underground utilities, and broke through into the original mouth of the cave again while we were doing the grading and contouring work around the hill for our house," Greg said.
"There's a cave on our property?" Zackary asked.
"Yes. We think the purpose of the tunnel was someone's attempt to try to reach it again after mudslide covering the mouth occured," Greg explained.
"Why do you think that?" Zackary wondered.
"We found a few items suggesting someone was using it as a camp site at the time. It is probable they were using the cave as a form of shelter during a particularly heavy rain, which my architects believe is what triggered the slide. We believe their camp was buried quite suddenly during a storm about that time ... at least that is the era the items appear to be from," Greg explained.
"You found their camp?" Zackary asked in amazement.
"We did. There wasn't much there apart from one tent and somebody's personal things. Apart from their age we don't think the items have any value, but that is what gave us the clue."
"Does anyone else know?" Zackary asked eagerly.
"Neil does. He helped us explore it back in February when we first discovered it. I plan to show it to you today, but you must promise me you will be very careful ... and don't tell your mother about it, or Jessie," Greg said. "Do you promise?"
"Yeah ... yes, of course!" Zackary said enthusiastically.
The construction site really wasn't all that far from the house, and it didn't take them long to reach it. Greg pulled off the road onto the newly graded and graveled driveway then pulled up as he usually did to park alongside the contractor's shelter at the top of the valley. He stopped the car and they both got out. Immediately Greg handed Zackary a hard hat and donned one himself.
"What do we need this for?" Zackary asked.
"You will see," Greg told him as he guided the way to the top of the valley where they could see the beginnings of the bridge house. From where he was standing with Zackary, the opening to the cave was directly beneath them and couldn't be seen.
Zackary looked down into a valley that he hardly recognized. He could clearly see what looked like two buildings being built farther away from where they stood, parallel to and along opposite sides of the valley, then what looked like the bridge for a railroad crossing between them. It even seemed to have ties, holding the rails in place.
"That thing that looks like railroad tracks, what is it?" Zackary asked.
"That is the steel frame that will form the support for the main part of our house," Greg explained. "Remember, most of the house won't have the sort of foundation that most houses do. In fact you'll be able to freely walk right under it."
"It looks like you already can," Zackary observed.
"Yes, we can, but it isn't safe to do so yet, which is why we need the hardhats at the moment. Do you want to get a closer look?" Greg asked.
"Okay," Zackary said.
Greg led the way to the path beside the orange fence he typically followed into the valley. As soon as he did, the artificially enhanced mouth of the cave gradually became visible. Zackary paused half way down staring at it.
"Wow," he said finally.
Greg stopped too taking in his step-son's expression.
"Indeed. What do you think?" Greg asked.
"All that was buried?" Zackary asked.
"The original entrance to it was. Some of what looks like rock around it is actually cement. We want to make sure the opening isn't simply buried again by a future mudslide, so they've put that in to help stabilize the hill," Greg explained.
"Mr. Abernathy!" a man in a hard hat approached them from beneath the bridge.
"Hello Mr. Thompson. I'd like to introduce you to my step-son. He got out of school early today and helped me with the design, so I promised to bring him by to see the progress on the house today," Greg said. "Zackary, this is Mr. Thompson."
"Hello," Zackary said.
"Nice to meet you ... Zackary is it?" Mr. Thompson said shaking the boy's hand.
"'Zack's okay," Zackary said.
"Okay, Zack then. What do you think of your cave?"
"How'd you figure out that was there?" Zackary asked. "It's huge so I guess you couldn't exactly miss it, but none of that was there before!"
"It was, but as your step-dad probably already told you, we broke through the surface of the dirt and began to uncover it while we were digging to put in these bridge supports," Mr. Thompson said with a grin.
"Can we go in it?" Zackary asked.
"Later," Greg told him. "I need to talk to Mr. Thompson first."
Zackary nodded looking curiously at everything as Mr. Thompson talked to Greg about utility line routes for the bridge house, loads of lumber being delivered the following week, and details about the rooms that were already being constructed. There were odd, wedge-shaped forms in place, up against the support columns where the cement was just being poured. Next to that, but three feet lower in the second valley there were already structures being framed. Together the three of them wandered through the parts of the structure that already had a floor and Zack could see where windows and doors and interior walls for the rooms Greg described as their hotel rooms would be. So far they looked like completely separate structures either from each other or the bridge being built across the valley, although the bridge did seem to be suspended over the edges of the rooms at one end, the same end which attached to the new parts of the foundation being poured. Still, even though he'd seen the plans for the house, trying to visualize how they would eventually be connected wasn't all that straight forward.
After they finished in the valley, Greg hiked back up the hill instead of taking him into the cave as promised. There were stakes everywhere on the top at the hill, and there another man, a large muscular black man was looking for Greg. Greg introduced him as Mr. Van Kirk, and as he shook Zackary's hand, he insisted Zack call him 'George'.
"Okay," Zackary said shyly.
"Come with me," Mr. Van Kirk said to them both. "I have something to show you."
He led them out to a place out on top of the hill, near the point where a back hoe had dug a square hole.
"What is this for?" Zackary asked.
"A small building will be built here," Greg said pointing at the stakes with flags that were green instead of yellow or blue as many of them were. "This hole leads underground, obviously. I'll show you where it will go before we leave today, okay?"
"Okay," Zackary agreed. "But what's it for?"
"When we're finished, you'll be able to enter the cave system from here," Greg said.
Zackary looked at him in confusion.
"Have you been inside yet?" Mr. Van Kirk asked him.
"No. I didn't even know it was there until today," Zackary told him.
Mr. Van Kirk leaned his head back in a deep throated belly laugh. "Then you have quite a surprise waiting for you. Come with me. I need to show your papa the garage," he said.
"Is it finished?" Greg asked.
"I wouldn't say finished, but it's there," Mr. Van Kirk said.
They followed him back along the crest of the hill then down the northern side this time along the slope that was being graded and would become part of a sloping, curved drive. The driveway led them around back underneath the curve of the hill, circling as though to go under itself when suddenly it seemed to disappear. They got closer and found a collection of special equipment working around the edges of a rectangle shaped hole in the north side of the hill, setting in place rebar that stuck out from around the opening.
"What is that?" Zackary asked. "Another cave?"
"No. We dug that," Mr. Van Kirk told him. "But it connects to the cave. In the back. Do you want to show him where?"
"We won't be in your way?" Greg checked.
"You can squeeze by and we're only working on the outside of this today, and we're nearly finished setting the rebar here," Mr. Van Kirk said. "We'll be moving to the valley to work there in about thirty minutes."
"We'll see you there," Greg said as he pulled a flashlight from his pocket and walked past the workers.
Zackary followed him eagerly into the rectangle shaped hole.
"Is this really going to be the garage?" he asked as he looked around.
"Yes. Do you think it's big enough?" Greg asked.
"Sort of ... I mean it's really wide ... but its underground!" Zackary exclaimed.
"Yes, but it should be very convenient to the house," Greg said. "We'll finish it of course, put cabinets on all the walls, probably a cement floor that's flat, and of course a garage door. But back here we will have a door."
He led Zack to what was now the mouth of the man-sized tunnel. There was still boring equipment inside the garage, so they had to be careful where they stepped, but clearly the workers had been busy. Part way up the tunnel there was a second tunnel veering off to the right at a particular angle. Greg paused shining his light into it, but it didn't go very far.
"I didn't know they'd started this yet," he commented.
"Where is it going to go?" Zackary asked.
"I'll show you," Greg said.
He led Zackary through the tunnel to the end where they emerged on the ledge high above the floor of the inner chamber of the cave, which appeared to be at the bottom of a chasm. There he stopped, shining his light around the space. He found the generator and the Christmas lights which were now inside the chamber and started it up. Instantly the lights came on and Zackary could see where they were.
"Do you see that natural bridge to the right?" Greg asked pointing to the arch.
"Yes," Zackary said.
"The branch in the tunnel we passed will come out even with that. If you cross that bridge, it takes you to several smaller chambers, one of which comes very close to the surface on the side of the hill. We intentionally positioned the bridge house to be adjacent to it. Our plan is to eventually connect them through a secret passage," Greg said.
"Wow. Can we go look?" Zackary asked as he eyed the ropes and pitons still in place which created a rock climber's style path over to the bridge.
"I don't have any line to secure you to the rock in the event you slip, so I'd rather not," Greg said. "From the looks of things, we should be able to get there by this time next week through the tunnel. How about we wait for that?"
"Oh, okay," Zackary agreed. Going across the face of the steep, jagged wall that separated them from the bridge did look sort of dangerous. "Where is the hole they're digging from up on top going to come out?"
"Do you see that upper passage way to the right, just across the bridge?" Greg asked.
"I think so. Where does it go?" Zackary asked.
"Into that part of the hill. It has several branches, going much farther and deeper into the hill than the area we plan to develop, but one branch runs under the crest of the hill and goes up, very close to the surface in one place, where the little building there will sit. That is where we will connect them. There will be a set of steps in it like those that typically lead down into a basement, but instead it will lead into that passage way, which will lead here," Greg explained.
"Which will lead to the house," Zackary said. "I get it. How do we get down there?" he asked looking down at the floor of the cave.
"We can take the rope path down," Greg said. "There are ample ropes to hang onto and each drop is less. Please be careful."
"I will," Zackary said. "Should I go first?"
"I will. Watch where I go and follow me," Greg instructed.
He led the way, waiting patiently at each level as Zackary made the climb, and fifteen minutes later, they were on the floor of the cave.
"Now what?" Zackary asked shining the light around.
"If we head under the bridge, that low passageway leads very close to the tunnel in the bottom valley. Eventually we will connect them," Greg said.
"And the other way goes to the mouth of the cave?" Zackary asked.
"Exactly," Greg said. "Which way would you like to go first?"
"You mean we get to explore?" Zackary asked eagerly.
"Yes," Greg said.
He'd been through all these passageways before, and the space felt less like a wild cave to him because of that, but he knew for Zackary this was bordering on a grand adventure ... quite literally in their future back yard.
They took their time exploring the lower passage ways of the little cave system, eventually coming back to where they started and going out the other way. Daylight was now apparent as soon as one entered the narrow passageway which separated the two largest chambers, and a short time later, they found themselves standing on a ledge at the back of a chamber open to the outside by the mouth of the cave.
Greg faced the opening, studying the changes which had been made since his last visit there. The loose soil which originally filled the mouth of the cave, including its floor was now completely gone. In its place, boulders had been strategically arranged and some were in the process of being cemented in place against the bare rock floor which sometime during the preceding week had been scraped clean of any loose rock and debris.
Zackary looked at the chamber curiously while Greg was busy studying the work which was already completed. Then he too looked at the opening where the soil had been cleared away.
"Didn't you say you found somebody's stuff in here?" Zackary asked curiously.
"We did. We found the remains of an old tent and somebody's personal effects which became partially buried when the mudslide covered the mouth of the cave," Greg reiterated.
Zackary nodded. "Is it still here?" he asked looking around.
"This way," Greg directed. "I moved it out of this chamber to keep it from getting damaged when they dug it out."
Greg led the way back inside what he considered to be the main chamber. There off to the side, in a niche he'd more or less ignored, sat the artifacts they'd uncovered inside the cave on the day it was first explored. Greg shone his light on the items piled there, showing Zackary the small collection of things they'd collected, watching his expression of curiosity as the beam from Greg's flashlight lit the ordinary shovel, the pile of old canvas with it's broken tent poles, and the array of cooking items they'd retrieved. Among them sat the wooden box and a mostly rotted out canvas bag.
"What's in the box?" Zackary asked inquisitively.
"The personal effects of the tent's owner, I would presume," Greg told him.
"Can I look in it?" Zackary asked.
"Certainly," Greg said.
He watched curiously as Zack retrieved the box and looked inside. The lid was tightly closed so it took some effort to get it open, but finally they did. Aided by the light from the flashlight, they could see the collection of things, most of which weren't all that interesting to a twelve year old boy: a shaving mug, an old bar of soap, a rusted straight edge razor, a small mirror, a little book and a letter which lay on the top.
"Can I look at this?" Zackary asked curiously as he picked up the letter.
"I have been meaning to," Greg told him. "Perhaps we should take it out to the light so we can take a better look?"
"Okay. What's in the book?"
"It appears to be a collection of hand written notes ... possibly a journal, I can't be certain which," Greg said as Zack picked up the book and thumbed through the pages.
"Hey Greg, it's got pictures in it ... look at this," Zackary said as he came to a page near the back of the book which held a pen and ink drawing of a cave. The drawing clearly showed a tent pitched beneath the overhang where it was protected from the elements a bit more. "I wonder if that is this cave before it caved in."
"It could be. The tent in the drawing does look a bit like the one we found," Greg remarked.
"It does?" Zackary asked looking at the misshapen pile of stiff old canvas and broken pieces of wood.
"It looks very much like a tent from the mining era, which is what this tent was," Greg explained.
"Yeah, I guess," Zackary agreed.
"Let's take the book too, shall we?" Greg suggested.
"Yeah, okay," Zackary agreed. He started to shut the box when he found a second letter in amongst the rags surrounding the shaving mug. He pulled that out too, handing it to Greg before closing the box and leaving it on the top of the pile of items in the cave.
"What do you think of the rest of this?" Greg asked with a wave towards the pile as they turned to leave the rest behind.
"It's just somebody's stuff, like you said ... it's not cool or anything," Zackary said.
"Except for the fact it was here, I agree with you, it's not. Are you ready to go back out?"
"Yeah, I think so," Zackary said as he handed Greg the items they were taking with them back to the surface.
Greg pocketed the letter and the book. Then he climbed back up the rope ladder followed by Zackary. Together they made their way back through the tunnels to the outside of the garage, where they walked back around towards the top of the hill and Mr. Thompson's sun shade.
They spent all afternoon at the build site, watching the workers, looking at things, and talking to the contractors. The work going on was so fascinating, the pair of them gave no more thought to the letters and the little book for the remainder of the afternoon. Eventually however, it was time to go home, and Zackary's eyes were shining so brightly Greg wondered if he'd be able to keep their secret from Susan for very long.
c
"That is so cool," Zackary commented on the drive home. "I can't believe we're going to have our very own cave."
"It is cool," Greg agreed. "But remember, it's supposed to be a surprise for Jessie and your mom, so don't tell them."
"I know," Zackary assured him still grinning broadly. "Can we tell Matt though?"
"Matthew?" Greg asked.
"Yeah, you know. Mom said he's coming to live with us this summer. That's really soon ... as soon as school gets out," Zackary said. "Can we tell him?"
Greg considered Zackary's request. If he agreed to share their secret with Matt, that would make twice as many people who knew who could give it away. On the other hand, if Zackary had his brother to talk to about it instead of the necessity of keeping it to himself, it might enable him to be more successful in keeping it a surprise.
"I'll think about it," Greg said. "Maybe."
"Why? Don't you think Matt can keep a secret?" Zackary asked.
"Do you think he can?" Greg said.
"Yeah, Matt's great at keeping secrets," Zackary declared.
"Big ones?" Greg asked.
"Yeah, definitely. I mean he kept Dad's secret about going to see Mom when you guys were at that resort until after they got back and I already knew," Zackary pointed out.
"I suppose that was rather huge," Greg agreed. "Okay, so soon after Matthew gets here we'll take him with us, and he can find out like you did ... by seeing it. How would that be?"
"That'd be good," Zackary agreed. "Do you think the other tunnel will be done by then?"
"It may be. How long is it before Matthew gets here?" Greg asked.
"About three weeks I think," Zackary said.
"That should be perfect," Greg agreed as they turned into their driveway and parked in the garage.
"You know, the new garage is a lot bigger than this one is," Zackary remarked.
"It is," Greg agreed. "The ceiling is lower, but I think it will have plenty of room side to side and front to back."
"And you don't even have to get wet when you go into the house if it's raining," Zackary said as he studied the sky with a frown as they left the garage to go into the house. Clouds were gathering overhead. "Why does it have to be bad weather on a weekend?" he complained.
"I don't know," Greg said. "Remember, we're having a barbeque on Monday."
"I remember," Zackary said looking none too pleased by the weather.
"Do you have games this weekend?" Greg asked on their way to the house.
"No. It's because of the holiday. I was supposed to go bike riding tomorrow after services with Ian though, but his mom won't let him go if it's muddy," Zackary said as they went in.
"There you are," Susan said to the two as she came to greet them.
"I took Zackary with me to the building site this afternoon," Greg told her. "Didn't I tell you I was going?"
"You did, but not that you were taking Zackary, and Zack you didn't leave a note," Susan scolded.
"Sorry Mom," Zackary said sheepishly. "I was working on your surprise with Greg."
Susan's frown faded when she saw his excited smile.
"Am I going to like it?" she asked.
"Yeah. It is so cool!" Zackary exclaimed.
"Well don't give it away," Susan reminded him. "Go wash up. It's almost time for supper."
"Oh ... okay," Zackary agreed. "Mom, when is Matt coming for the summer?"
"In June," Susan said as they walked down the hall towards the bathroom together.
"When in June?" Greg asked.
"He gets out of school June 13th. He's staying in Seattle for a few days to hang out with friends, then flying to our house on June 17th, three weeks from this coming Monday. Michael's driving him to the airport on his way to work. Why?" Susan asked.
"I think Zackary is looking forward to having him here for the summer. We were talking about it on the way home," Greg said.
"Well remember, Zack; Matt's not just coming for a visit. He's going to be living here with us until just before school starts," Susan reminded him.
"So," Zackary said.
"So, Matt turned sixteen earlier this month, remember? He's going to try to get a job while he's here," Susan said.
"Why?" Zackary said.
"I'm going to work on dinner. Maybe we can talk about it while we eat?" Susan suggested.
"In Hebrew?" Zackary asked doubtfully as he remembered it was Friday.
"It would be a good chance to expand our vocabulary," Greg reminded him.
"Yeah, okay," Zackary agreed. "Where's Jessie?"
"She's spending the night with her friend," Susan said. "It's just us tonight."
Zackary nodded and disappeared into the bathroom to wash before dinner. Greg went upstairs to change and Susan went back to the kitchen to finish dinner.
c
Greg was standing in the middle of their walk-in closet changing his trousers before he remembered the letter and the book he and Zackary picked up in the cave. He retrieved them from the pocket of the jeans he was taking off, and took a moment to open one of the letters as he did. He immediately re-read the date at the top ... the only part of the document he'd looked closely before. It read, "May 27, 1874."
The salutation just below it read, "Dearest Maxwell."
Greg did a double-take at the name, then scanned through the letter to the very bottom. It was signed, "Waiting to be yours, Rosalie Ashby."
The name rang a bell, though Greg didn't think he could immediately place it. Thoughtfully he refolded the letter intending to read it in its entirety later, and set it aside. He opened the second letter, and thought the date was significantly later, the names were the same. Obviously this Rosalie had corresponded with Maxwell for a number of years.
Next he thumbed through the little book. Zackary was right. It did contain a number of drawings ... not just the one of the cave, but there were others in the book besides. He thumbed through it front to back, thinking it might in fact be someone's sketchbook instead of a journal as he originally supposed, but what he found made him think it was most likely a mixture of both. There did seem to be journal entries mixed in with the sketches, as though the two were somehow related, but there were also rows of figures, lists for things and other random entries which weren't necessarily connected.
Thinking this was something that needed closer study too, Greg set the book aside along with the letters in order to finish dressing before dinner. He returned to the kitchen by way of the upstairs tunnel, stopping in their office long enough to place both the letter and the book safely in his desk drawer, intending to take the time later for a better look.
c
It was a low key evening at the Abernathy household that night with only the three of them there. Aside from their barbeque on Monday, they didn't have much planned for the weekend, and since the children were getting a break from their sports, they decided to use the time on Saturday and Sunday to take a break from pretty much everything. Susan did spend some time getting the house ready for guests, but they also slept late, with everyone going to the later services; they encouraged the children to spend time with friends instead of participating in sports, and Greg and Susan even spent more time with each other, relaxing in their own yard where they could talk while Jessie and Zackary were otherwise occupied on Sunday afternoon. Their planned menu for Monday was very simple and so Susan didn't feel the need to prepare very much ahead, so they could.
"So do you think I'll like the surprise you are working on so hard?" Susan wondered aloud.
"I think you will," Greg told her. "Though I do think it is very good you extended our lease through the end of September."
"Do you think we'll need to extend it again?" Susan asked.
"Undoubtedly, although at this point it is difficult for me to determine how much longer we will need to live here. I really did hope we would be in our new home for the holidays this year, but at this point I have my doubts," Greg shared.
"Given we weren't able to break ground until mid-April, I'm not surprised. They say it takes nearly a year to build a house, and given that you keep talking about a habitat and not just a house, I'm guessing it will take longer," Susan said.
"I trust not," Greg told her. "I plan to re-evaluate the situation again at the end of July, however I do anticipate we will need to extend the lease out past September."
"Ah well. This is not such a bad house, Greg. It has grown on me quite a lot since we've been here," Susan shared.
"You have gradually grown to like nearly every place we've ever lived," Greg pointed out. "Even the cave."
"The cave wasn't so bad," Susan insisted. "It had a solid roof."
"It was dark, had sandy floors, a draft, nothing would dry. We had no furniture, no plumbing, not even a convenient bush nearby," Greg reminded her.
"Oh, I suppose," Susan replied. "So tell me, how is your other project coming?"
"My other project?"
"The movie," Susan reminded him.
"Oh that. Andrew and I finished our work on the script just this past week. Alex is reviewing it and plans to use it to try once again to market it to the production community. He has high hopes that this more polished version will actually sell. Do you remember Mr. Giannopoulos, whom you met last fall?" Greg asked.
"I think so. Isn't he the Greek gentleman I met at Alex's last November, when I went to pick you up? Before you were allowed to drive?" Susan asked.
"He is one of the people you met. He's asked for Andrew's version of the script to read by the end of next week, now that it's ready. We're hoping he'll be interested enough to at least enter into a dialogue with us on behalf of the studio. But Alex is also putting our feelers for others who might be interested," Greg said.
"Do you think having the script rewritten has helped?" Susan asked.
"Undoubtedly, though it is premature to say how much yet. My feeling is, it will turn out to be a far better sales tool for our story than I turned out to be," Greg told her. "I am eager to get started on the project, but on the other hand, I do feel I have my hands full at the moment with the house, so I don't mind if it takes a few weeks yet."
"Then we really do need to get the house done," Susan remarked.
"Yes, we do, but we're a long way from that, unfortunately," Greg said.
"Well is there anything else we need to do?" Susan asked. "More materials to select possibly?"
"We've chosen what they call the architectural features," Greg assured her. "Though I suppose there are still a few finishing items on our list like paint colors, flooring, those sorts of things. But we have plenty of time to do that, Susan."
"Hum. So exactly where are we on this project Greg?" Susan asked.
"How do you mean?" Greg asked warily.
"Is the grading done?"
"Yes, as far as I can tell it is," Greg said.
"And is the foundation in?" Susan asked.
"For the house it is. We also have some detached features which don't have their foundations quite yet, but they should soon and most of it is in," Greg answered.
"Well, for the part that has the foundation, have they roughed in the plumbing?" Susan asked.
"For much of it, they have, although they haven't connected the house lines to the service lines yet. From what I understand, that will occupy a good deal of Mr. Van Kirk's time over the next few weeks," Greg said.
"So we do have utilities on our property," Susan concluded.
"Yes, that at least has been done," Greg confirmed. "And some sections of the house where the foundation is done even have the floors framed, the sub-flooring is in, and the framing for the walls has begun."
"Just in time for Friday night's rain," Susan said. "I hope that didn't damage anything."
"I doubt it did. It barely sprinkled," Greg commented. "And I'm sure they took care to cover anything that shouldn't get wet."
"I suppose, and that is a start, but if they've just started framing the exterior walls, we do have a very long ways to go," Susan remarked.
"They have started some of the framing for the interior walls too, though not much," Greg told her.
Susan arched her brow. "Well that is a bit better, but still I think it's safe to say we'll be here well into next fall, at least, maybe even into winter depending on how the finishing work proceeds."
"At least," Greg agreed.
"You're not going to tell me anything more about this, are you?" she asked.
"You warned Zackary not to spoil your surprise, surely you're not hoping I'll spoil it for you myself," Greg teased.
"No, but I would like to know some things Greg. After all, it is going to be our home, not just your secret forever."
"I know that Susan. But you know the important things. You've seen the floor plan, helped pick out the materials, and you know where we're building it, those kinds of things. And I've been telling you a little about the phase of construction we're going through as we reach it," Greg said.
"Okay, then what is next?" Susan asked.
"More trench digging, cement pouring, and framing I think," Greg answered truthfully but vaguely.
Susan frowned. "Oh okay, don't tell me," she pouted.
"Susan, must I remind you, there are things you're not telling me as well?" Greg questioned.
"What sort of things?"
"You never did tell me how your visit with the specialist went earlier this month," Greg reminded her. "I know you went for an appointment on the seventh ... that was more than two weeks ago, but apart from telling me he'd ordered tests, you haven't said anything about it."
"That's because there isn't anything to say yet. I had to make an appointment for the tests he ordered. I did that and I had the tests just did that last week. We don't even have the results back yet, so there's nothing to tell you yet."
"That may be true, however you've been trying to take care of this since last fall," Greg pointed out.
"Yes, I have. But they take emergency cases first, and everyone else just has to wait. Mine isn't, so that's why we're still waiting." Susan paused when a distinctly dissatisfied expression appeared on Greg's face. "These things take time, Greg," she reminded him.
"Hopefully not quite as long as building a house," Greg said.
"I hope not," Susan agreed. "Oh, another thing, did I tell you I'm going into the office next week?"
"You didn't, but I'm not surprised. It's been a while since you were there," Greg said. "How long will you be gone?"
"Just two days this time, Wednesday and Thursday," Susan said.
"It's going to be a very busy week," Greg commented. "Is there anything else on your schedule between now and the end of school I should know about?"
"Next Saturday is the end-of-season closing ceremonies for both Jessie's and Zackary's baseball teams, and Marion's baby shower is the Saturday after that," Susan said.
"On the 8th?" Greg asked, consulting a pocket calendar.
"Yes. The closing ceremonies are on the 1st, the shower is on the 8th, roughly a week before her due date. Her mom's throwing the party, but Jessie and I've been invited," Susan said.
"I was wondering about that," Greg started to say when suddenly the cloudy skies above them broke loose. It began to seriously rain and their time in the garden was cut short as they hurried inside to discuss their schedules, the coming of their friend's babies, and their barbeque the next day.
c
Richard and Marion arrived right in time the next afternoon, with Marion carrying a potato salad and Richard carrying an umbrella, in an effort to keep them both from getting wet.
"Hello. Welcome," Greg said as he met them at the front door.
"Hello," Richard said as he shook the umbrella out on the porch before closing it and coming into the house.
"Happy Memorial Day, Greg," Marion said sweetly as she went into the house without him.
"Thank you Marion. Susan's in the kitchen," Greg said as he waited for Richard to follow.
Marion smiled and swept past him into the kitchen.
"I can't believe it's raining," Richard remarked as he followed her inside and set the umbrella on the hearth of the fireplace in the small front room.
"You sound like Zackary. He was distinctly disapproving of the weather on Saturday when it disrupted his bike riding plans," Greg shared.
"I don't blame him," Richard told him. "This is supposed to be the unofficial beginning of summer, a day for barbeques and time spent with friends. This is California for crying out loud. It's not supposed to rain here on days like this. That's why people move here from other states."
Greg arched a brow at his friend. "We need the rain, Richard. And two out of three isn't bad."
"How do you mean?"
"We're still going to barbeque, although we will most likely eat in the kitchen instead of the patio as we originally intended. And you are amongst friends," Greg reminded him. "Even if isn't quite summer yet."
Richard looked sheepishly at his friend. "Sorry about that. I don't mean to complain, but it is inconvenient."
"It is. I've set up a sun shade up over the barbeque. It should do an adequate job of keeping out the rain while we cook," Greg shared.
"Do you think it will work?" Richard asked.
"Come look," Greg invited.
"How are you going to do the chicken, Susan?" Marion was asking as the men walked through the kitchen on their way to inspect the way Greg had arranged the sunshade over the barbeque.
"It's been marinating," Susan was saying. "We'll brown it, then wrap it in foil on the barbeque to cook and add barbeque sauce at the last." And she began to discuss the recipe she followed to make the sauce.
"Hello Susan," Richard said as he followed Greg.
"Hello Richard. I'm glad you could come, even if it is raining," Susan said.
Richard tried to smile. Susan could tell he really was, but it was also clear he wasn't happy about it.
"It's not your fault," he said in his best imitation of a cheery tone.
Susan smiled sympathetically.
"Come on, Richard. Help me with the barbeque," Greg directed.
Richard smiled again and nodded before following him out through the laundry room.
Marion sighed as she watched her husband following Greg.
"Richard absolutely hates the rain," she told Susan. "He doesn't mind it so much if we're someplace else, but somehow he's gotten it into his head that it should never rain in California."
"That's a myth, Marion, as I'm sure you know. It doesn't rain as much here as it does in other places ...say Seattle, but it does rain once in a while," Susan told her.
"Yes, I know. We've lived here long enough to know that is true, but it still dampens his spirits when it does," Marion said apologetically.
Susan smiled in understanding. "Well maybe we can take his mind off the rain today. What do you say?"
Marion cocked her head. "I don't mind actually. It has distracted him from thinking about the babies."
"That's probably good. Speaking of babies though, how are they doing?" Susan asked.
"They're good. Dr. Daniels is pleased. I feel like a whale, but as long as the babies are doing well and growing, I guess I don't mind," Marion told her.
"Is Dr. Daniels going forward with the early delivery?" Susan wondered.
"Yes. We've compromised. I'm scheduled for Monday of the same week I was due instead of the Friday before. That's only four days early instead of a full week," Marion shared.
"So what day is that?" Susan asked curiously.
"June 17th," Marion answered.
Susan arched her brow. "That's the same day Matt's getting here."
"Matt's coming for a visit?" Marion asked.
"He's going to live with us this summer," Susan told her friend with a smile. "I'm looking forward to it actually. I haven't been able to spend nearly as much time with him as I've wanted to since we've been home."
"That will be really nice for you," Marion said.
"I think so too," Susan agreed.
"But if he's coming that same day ...you'll be busy," Marion guessed.
"Not necessarily. I don't know for sure he's coming that day. That is the day we have planned, but Michael hasn't bought his plane ticket yet, so things could still change," Susan said. "And even if he does, we'll come by for a visit. Other than making sure we're available to pick him up at the airport, it shouldn't take us all day. Also, I'll be taking the day off from work, so I'm sure I'll have time to come see you too."
Marion smiled tentatively. "I hope so," she said, trying not to sound too eager.
"So how are you feeling, Marion?" Susan wondered as she worked to get their meal ready.
"Good I guess. I feel enormous. I haven't seen my feet in months. It's hard to get up out of bed or even a chair. And, I have to get up to pee every night in the middle of the night, which of course disturbs Richard, but everyone I've talked to says that's normal."
"It is," Susan assured her. "And to me, you look good. Just like what an expectant mother should look like."
"I'm glad you think so," Marion said as the sound of the door to the laundry room opening and closing reached them.
"Is it going to work?" Susan asked looking expectantly at her husband.
"If you mean are we going to be able to use the barbeque to cook the chicken on, then I think it will. If you mean are we going to be able to eat under the sun umbrella at the patio table, definitely not," Greg told her. "It's raining too hard to consider it."
Susan nodded. "Well at least we can still barbeque. Is it ready yet?"
"The barbeque it lit. Let's give it a few more minutes to come up to temperature," Greg advised. "How are you doing in here?"
"Good. We've got the salads ready, the table is set. We're ready when you are. There's beer in the refrigerator if you want to offer one to Richard," Susan suggested.
"Good idea," Greg said as he pulled out two.
"What's a good idea?" Richard asked as he came into the kitchen behind Greg.
"Beer?" Greg offered.
"Definitely," Richard said, popping to top off the offered bottle and taking a long draught before setting it down. "So what are we talking about in here? Babies? Your house?"
"Babies," Susan told him.
"Too bad. I want to hear about your house," Richard told them.
Greg arched a brow as Zackary followed by Jessie came into the kitchen.
"Hi Richard," Zackary said.
"Hi Uncle Richard," Jessie said.
"Hi kids," Richard answered. "I was just trying to talk your Papa into telling us about your new house."
"He can't," Jessie told him seriously.
"Why not?" Marion asked in surprise.
"'Cause, it's a surprise for Mama," Jessie told them.
"It is?" Marion asked. "Still?"
"Still," Susan confirmed. "More or less."
"What do you mean, more or less?" Richard asked.
"I have seen the floor plan, and we shop every weekend for materials, as you well know. But I haven't seen it," Susan told them.
"Who has?" Richard asked.
"Greg has," Susan said.
"And me. I got to see it on Friday, before it rained," Zackary told them.
"So what do you think?" Marion asked.
"It's going to be cool. Most of it isn't there yet, but I think it's going to be good," Zackary told them.
"What do you mean, most of it isn't there?" Richard asked.
"We have foundation, supports, subfloor for the lowest level, and framing has been begun for a few of the rooms," Greg explained. "But as it will eventually be a multi-level structure, as Zackary says, most of it isn't there yet."
"You said there was a lot of grading to be done to get your property ready to build on," Richard remarked.
"There was," Greg said mildly. "We've decided to go with underground utilities, which has increased the amount of excavation and trenching that needed to be done before we ever broke ground."
"So there's been a lot of digging?" Marion asked Zackary.
"Yep. Lots," Zackary said, looking like he was about to burst. Greg arched his brow at him. "What? I'm not going to tell."
"I am counting on it," Greg reminded him and Zackary nodded.
Richard cocked his head at the two. "I take it the two of you have some sort of secret about this you aren't telling Susan?"
"I think there is a lot they aren't telling me," Susan interrupted, trying to save Zackary from having to answer while at the same time keeping his secret. "Greg is the fire ready yet?"
"Let me check. Zack, you want to help?" Greg offered.
"Yeah, okay," Zackary agreed, following him through the laundry room outside.
Richard watched him go. "Poor kid. It's tough to have a cool secret you're not allowed to tell anyone."
"Maybe, but it's fun for them too," Susan recognized.
"And you really don't mind that they're doing this?" Marion asked.
"Not really. It's given Greg and Zack something they can share that they both care about. I don't think there is much else they could," Susan said. "It's good for them, I suspect."
"Susan, the fire is ready. Is the chicken?" Greg said as he came back in.
"Right here," Susan told him, handing him the dish with the chicken and the roll of aluminum foil. "Will you need help with that?"
"Richard can help me," Greg assured her as he went outside again.
"Apparently I'm helping," Richard told the women, and he followed Greg out while Zackary came back in.
"Did you spoil Mama's surprise?" Jessie asked him.
"No. Greg thought I was going to though," Zackary told her.
"You won't," Susan told him confidently. "You can do this," she assured her son and Zackary stared at her.
"Thanks Mom," he said with a grin. "Um, are we supposed to be doing something?"
"Not really. You can hang out with us if you'd like ... or we can call you when the food's ready."
"Okay. Matt was on earlier. I think I'll chat with him on my computer while we're waiting to eat."
"What is Matt doing today?"
"They're having a barbeque today too, only it's not raining there. Dad's outside and Rachelle is in the kitchen and Josh, him and Brianna are staying out of the way 'cause some guys from Dad's work are there too," Zackary explained.
"Say 'hi' to them for me," Susan said as Zack turned to head through the door to the hall.
"Okay," Zackary called as he disappeared towards the back part of the house while Jessie settled herself on a kitchen chair to hang out with the women.
Meanwhile Marion watched Susan and the children in awe.
Susan arched her brow in an unspoken question while looking at her friend.
"You and your kids ... you are so good with them," Marion told her.
"Thank you," Susan told her.
"I mean it, Susan. I only hope Richard and I will do as well."
"You will," Susan told her. "Having kids are something you grow into, Marion. You start out with them as babies, feeling like you don't know what you're doing. Then before you know it, you do ... except by then, they've gone on to the next stage and you have to learn about that too. Eventually, they become people."
"Mama, am I a people?" Jessie asked.
"You most certainly are," Susan told her. "How's your tooth coming?"
"Good," Jessie said as she wiggled a loose one with her tongue, opening her mouth to show Marion and Susan.
Susan smiled. "It's getting there," she said as she began to pull relishes from the refrigerator to prepare them.
Before they knew it, the chicken was ready. Zackary was called and they all sat down to their barbeque dinner, inside the Abernathy's kitchen. The dinner was relaxed and casual, just what everybody needed at the end of a relaxing weekend.
Richard and Marion stayed well into the evening, visiting with their friends and helping with the clean up after dinner. They stayed even after Susan was putting the children to bed, listening while Greg read a story to them, before deciding it was perhaps time to go.
"This has been such fun," Richard told them seriously. "You almost made me forget it is raining."
"I think it's stopped, Richard," Marion remarked looking out the window as they got ready to go.
"You know, I think you're right. It's dripping out, but I don't think it's coming down any more," Susan told them and Richard grinned.
"Good night, Richard," Greg told his friend seriously. "Thank you for coming. Maybe Susan feels slightly less guilty now about asking you both to babysit quite so often during this past year."
Richard smiled. "All the more opportunities we've had to practice. Good night Greg. Sleep well, Susan."
"Thank you. I'll see you in two weeks for your baby shower, Marion," Susan said.
"I can't wait," Marion told her truthfully, and carrying what was left of her potato salad, she and Richard went out to their car calling,
"Good bye!"
c